Friday, April 30, 2010

Wow! I got home from work to find a long skinny package from Australia! It was my quilt from Helen! Isnt' it wonderful? I asked her to make something that was "very very Helen."I love, love, love it! Awesome bright colors, and the pebble quilting is phenomenal! You can really see it in this detail of the tree. The quilt is about 22" x 30".

Thursday, April 29, 2010

I moved the books to the bookshelf in the other room.I cleaned out the items in the file cabinets, cleaned off the top of the desk and cleared out the items in the corner.I can't move much else without help. Everything else is big, bulky and heavy. It's not going anywhere until Saturday. I will work a 12 hour day on Friday, so the last cleaning out session will have to be later Thursday evening. Hopefully the Ninja Brigade on Saturday will get the big items in place so I can settle in on Sunday. Keep your fingers crossed.

Helen's quilt is due to arrive at her house any day now. She promised to notify me "the nanosecond it arrives." I have a series of blog posts ready to go as soon as it does.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

(Can you tell I love a good pun?)The fiberboard panels have been mounted in the new studio. (They were screwed into the walls.)And the shelving has been installed in the other room.(With screws.) What is this, Phase Five?

I need a little break. I am too tired to replace all the books on these shelves.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

As part of Phase Four, the books that were on the shelves in this picture yesterday are now stacked in various other rooms. The shelves are going....gone.They will be moved to this wall later..which used to be this wall:(and yes, this new wall is about 48"(121 cm) shorter than the other wall, so the shelve have to be cut and I have a lot of rearranging to do.)

As for the solid core wooden door that makes up the computer table and the two file cabinets that hold it up, and the two maple bureaus that have to swap places? Well, those will move when there are five Ninjas here on Saturday.

Monday, April 26, 2010

In Phase 3, I moved The Stash. Which was pretty interesting. I merely switched the contents of two bookcases. Sort of. I had to empty the contents of one shelf on one bookcase before I could replace it with contents of the other. This bookcase used to hold Art books. Hardcovers. (Damn, they were heavy!)

And remember how I used to store cut 4-1/2" and 2-1/2" strips on hangers in the closet?Now they are all in the bins underneath my ironing table. (I also replaced the silvery heat resistant fabric on the top.So far, so good. The next step is moving the four long bookshelves (and all the stuff on them)to the old sewing room.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Phase Two includes not one, but TWO work tables!I can have one just for cutting...and the other for, well, you know...But the -absolutely best- thing I have ever bought for my sewing is this cushy floor mat. When I work on my quilts I do it standing up.This mat is -so- nice. My feet, legs and back are much happier!

*PS, VeeV, my ironing table is covered with that silvery heat-resistant fabric that is used for potholders and some ironing board covers. It can be bought by the yard and is not very expensive. You can read more about my ironing table here.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Friday, April 23, 2010

Sitting in my computer room last night, I thought, "... this room is bigger, why don't I make this my sewing studio?" After a bit of playing with graph paper I came up with a plan.It will be a hell of a lot of work, but I want to do it.

Two other things...

1. I am SO HAPPY about the winner of Project Runway! I won't spill the beans in case you haven't seen it, but I was THRILLED!

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

I still have letters on the brain. I've been playing with them to see just how far I can push them, although there isn't much to show for it in these. Except the "M" is made from four fabrics, and the "I" depends on your brain separating the purple from the green to make an "i". Dunno if it works, but I have been having fun looking through my stash and playing.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

I was wondering what a letter made out of selvage dots would look like. I think this one disappears too much into the white and would need to have a more contrasting background. This "e" is 5-1/4" tall by 4" wide.

I like making my lower-case "e" this way. To me it looks like it's saying "Eeeek!"

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Friday, April 16, 2010

The quilt for Helen will be flying it's way to Kununurra Australia on Monday. The one she is making for me will also by flying on it's way here, to New Hampshire USA.

I stayed up late last night to watch Project Runway. Regular readers know I have been watching from the very beginning (Season One). Last night I was kinda bummed to see the designer leave. I won't spill the beans in case you haven't watched it yet.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Helen told me that each of the photos of (my) quilt she has posted so far has had colors "altered" in PhotoShop! The nerve of her!So this is an actual unretouched photo of the quilt I am making for her!

Friday, April 9, 2010

I'm quilting. I'm almost done Helen's quilt. I've got the fabric for the binding, and I'll be adding a sleeve to the back.

I like the way the quilting is looking, although quilting with a walking foot is a royal pain in the butt. (Sew, stop, raise the pressure foot, move the fabric, move half the quilt around and through the really tight "throat" of this damn sewing machine, flatten everything out, lower the pressure foot, sew [quilt] two or three inches, repeat...)

Helen will be finished in about a week, then we'll be shipping them across two continents and two oceans to each other (another week), so two weeks until you get to see the whole thing. And if you think YOU are having a hard time waiting, let me tell you something... it is driving me crazy that I can't show you! But I promise it will be worth the wait!

Thursday, April 8, 2010

For all the rest of you wondering what the hell this is all about, please stay tuned! Helen and I have agreed NOT to post any pictures of the quilts we are making for each other until we each receive them. Indeed, we will try to ship them to each other on the same day, so they arrive at about the same time.**

Once Helen receives her quilt, I promise to blog about my entire process, from my first idea through completion. I'm so excited about it, I have worked on it every free moment since I returned from my trip two weeks ago. If I am very, very, very lucky, I will have it completed Sunday.

Who I Am

My name is Lynne Tyler and I live in New England in the USA. I've been sewing since 5th grade and making quilts since college. I love working with abstract shapes and color. I love strip piecing. I'm trained as an artist, and I love the graphic quality of quilts. I'd rather take the time to make something beautiful than buy something ugly. My companion is my tuxedo cat, Millie, who has her own blog at darlingmillie.blogspot.com.